Hello Southern Hemispherites!!

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  • Hi everyone, hope you’re all doing well.

    Quacka, so sorry to read that your Dad’s health situation is terminal. I didn’t understand from your previous post that it was so bad. It must be so hard wanting to be there, yet you’re 4 hours away.

    Looking at the yoghurt debate, I think I’m now leaning towards Quacka’s side. I’d add the fruit at the time you’re planning to eat it. It’s not too hard to defrost smaller amounts of fruit. Although it may be more tedious, it may also be safer for health, even if to this date, LJoyce, you’ve not had a problem.

    Intesha, I appreciate your comments about Lipitor. My major concern is its side-effects, particularly joint pain. I manage with the pain I have in various joints, mainly due to some osteo-arthritis, but I remember when I was being treated for breast cancer and my doctor after 5 years of Tamoxifen, wanted to change me over to a different drug. Well, the joint pain built up over several days to the point where it was acute, and I just said I couldn’t tolerate it, so I was put back on Tamoxifen. Too many friends have commented to me about their joint pain problems with cholesterol medication. 6.0 isn’t hugely elevated, and my HDL cholesterol is also at a quite healthy level, so … I don’t know. Maybe I could try it and see what happens, but once I start it, I doubt if he would allow me to go off it again, even if my cholesterol goes really low. I want the genuine low cholesterol that comes from weight loss.

    My goodness, enough whining about cholesterol. As I see my doctor tomorrow, I’ll post tomorrow night with the outcome.

    Hi neilithicman, you have the joys of a teenager now! My sympathies. šŸ™‚

    Cinque, if you could dig up the research, I’d really like to know more about it. Jason Fung in at least 2 or 3 places so far has been writing that the slowing in metabolism is almost immediate, with slowed heart rate,lowered blood pressure, etc. As my resting heart rate has dropped again to the mid 60s now I’m eating less (which I had felt pleased about, actually), I have been feeling some concern that I’m doing the wrong thing.

    Oh, and accountability – 1779 cals today, which is around my TDEE. FD coming up tomorrow.

    CalifDreamer, so glad the fires are well away from you, but how frustrating to have the electricity off unnecessarily. Stay safe.

    Hi Anzac65, hope the day goes well for eating, even if frantically busy.

    Klondi, PerthGirl, MerryMe and others hovering, hello and enjoy your coming day.

    Morning all

    Quacka – Iā€™ll add my sympathies to the others about your dad. I hope you can spend some quality time with him.

    Califdreamer – great youā€™re back online now. We renovated our bathroom a year or so ago, it was exciting to get everything new, but it was a bit stressful, I hope everything goes well for you.

    Betsy – I thought the total cholesterol wasnā€™t that important but the ratio of good to bad cholesterol was the issue. If your good cholesterol is reasonably high then surely you shouldnā€™t need medication?

    Back on a fast day today. Iā€™ll have to be careful this weekend because we have both our monthly cards evening with our friends on Saturday and then a family dinner on Sunday to get through. So much temptation.

    Good morning all, a very smoky day in Sydney due to bushfires and burn offs. Quite thick and horrible actually

    Yesterday was manic and stressful so I undid all the good from my FD on Tuesday. Sheesh – I have to get these NFD’s under control. FD today

    Cali I’m so sorry to hear you are having a rough time with the electricity (or lack of) and having to stay up all night to tend to the birds. I hear you loudly about stress eating, it is my biggest downfall. I’m still in the 83’s – but only just after yesterday and I’m so mad with myself. Good luck with the 2 X bathroom reno’s – that is bound to be a bit stressful too.

    I hope your doctors appointment goes well today Betsy and you get a nice surprise with a lower cholesterol reading.

    Good luck with your FD today Neil – not that you need it

    Will try and check in later. Have a great Thursday

    Good morning, a hot Melbourne day,

    I am driving to visit my friend in the country so a big day, but just wanted to send you some more good wishes Quacka, it is such hard news for you and all your family.

    While I was going through articles to find the ones on metabolism, I came upon one that said that when were are not getting enough sleep we get more dehydrated, so drink some extra water!
    Make sure you look after yourself well through this time. Hugs.

    Betsy, I knew there was stuff in the ‘related science research’ thread here and went through it, and oops, only started research and I need to get ready for the day. So I will just link a few relevant articles and then come back to it properly later.
    It began with an article in the NY Times about how 14 of 16 Biggest Loser contestants regained their weight a couple of years after being on the show, and put it down to slowed metabolism.
    https://theconversation.com/why-so-many-people-regain-weight-after-dieting-65095
    https://theconversation.com/why-we-regain-weight-after-drastic-dieting-60703
    https://theconversation.com/taking-a-break-from-your-diet-helps-long-term-weight-loss-55376
    https://healthsciences.ku.dk/newsfaculty-news/new-2016/new-research-obese-people-can-maintain-stable-weight-loss/
    But I still think I read research that gave a great overview on how fast our metabolism has to work when we are overweight and what happens when we lose weight, so I will look further when I can.

    Cali, as I was going through the pages I saw where the vegemite discussion began with you, that went on to cockatoos and led to you joining us here, it was lovely to be reminded.

    Bye now

    Good Morning everyone

    Thank you for your sympathies, my friends. I spent most of yesterday in a brain fog but am feeling a lot better today. I had already accepted it but I think just hearing the short time the doctor’s have given him, it really hit home. The doctor’s have said Christmas or a bit after, of course they don’t know for sure but given that he has lost 43kg in 3 months I think they are probably right.

    So today is a NFD. I have a big salad for lunch which I will add a can of tuna to. This morning I also bought some Biltong (Neil, your post reminded me), just a small pack because I really can’t stop when I start. I felt like some fruit so I bought a punnet of blueberries too. Mmmmmm

    Yesterday’s FD was good with food but again a couple of naughty beers sent me up to about 700 calories. It’s all good, the scales are going down every day so I am happy with that. The beers didn’t help me sleep at all though! I am running on three hours sleep today and surprisingly I feel pretty good. I think I am like an over revved car that is eventually going to blow up and I think I will probably hit the wall after lunch…..

    My walk this morning was beautiful. We had the thickest fog/sea mist over our little village and it was so damp it felt like it was very lightly sprinkling. It was still warm though. By the time I got around to the water a light breeze had picked up and started to clear it away so I got to see the water and the sun coming up.

    Betsy, I hope everything goes ok at the docs today.

    Cali, great to hear from you and that you are ok. Take care.

    Wishing you all are a really happy day. Look after yourselves xx

    Quacka, it is so hard to get your mind around what is happening. Unfortunately you know what is happening and it is a drawn out process where your mind finds it hard to comprehend that time is limited with your Dad.

    For me even though my Mum had dementia and Iā€™d already lost her, it was a shock when she suddenly went and it has left a huge hole in my life to realise I will never see or hear her again.

    My heart goes out to you and I know that all on this forum send you their thoughts and strength to get through a very difficult time.

    Take care of you so that you are strong and able to get through what is a heart wrenching time.

    Morning losers, hope everyone is staying on the straight and narrow. Now, wouldn’t that be a great name for a narrow boat!

    Quacka, I’m so sorry to hear about your Dad. I scrolled up and down to try to find your original post on this but was unsuccessful so I’m only going on what others have replied. A terrible time for you and your family especially as you say he may only have until Christmas. Enjoy those precious moments.

    Cinque, you’re still funny. Yes, Mr Thin is realising that if he doesn’t put things away in their proper place, he can’t get through to the other end of the boat. I don’t even have to nag. I don’t think of you as a wobbler. So grateful that you have kept this thread going without wavering at all.

    Klond, don’t worry – two signatures are required before either of us is allowed to commit to any Amazon purchases! It sounds like you’ve been enjoying lovely celebrations. Ha ha, yes a new version of fasting, 5-1-1. I fear it might be closer to 4-1-2 though.

    Neil, that is some achievement. Do you plan to lose more weight or do you have a good maintenance strategy? It can be challenging time trying to maintain the loss but I bet you have it all under control.

    Penguin, DD is now living in Notts. She couldn’t get to work d/t flooding yesterday.

    CalifD, what a nightmare for you and the birds.

    Anzac, something important that I wanted to say to you has left my brain again. Will you continue with this job after your holiday? I bet you’re excited. Maxx less so?

    It’s dangerous making individual replies when you can’t read everything. Bound to leave someone out. Hello Betsy, LJ, Intesha and everyone else.

    Morning rituals calling. Water tank to be filled. Waste tank to be emptied. Portholes to be sparkled.

    HI everyone, a really quick check-in tonight. Calories about 1380 today, so not a FD, but healthily under my current TDEE.

    Well, the doctor’s appointment actually went well. There were other issues to cover, so I brushed over the cholesterol of 6.0, and he said nothing. In actual fact, my triglycerides are normal and my HDL cholesterol is a really healthy (for a female) 2.0, with the Chol/HDL ratio only 3.0, which is considered to be very good, so I think Lipitor has gone onto the back burner for now. Whew!

    Weighed in at 0.8 kg below my October starting weight, and will weigh again tomorrow to commence November. Now the warmer weather really seems to be with us (though it will be cooler yet again for a couple of days next week – Melbourne!), I expect that weight loss will be easier for me.

    Cinque, thanks for the links. I tried to do an online search for articles, but ended with populist writings, like from webMD. I’ll have to have another look using Google scholar. Actually getting a bit bored with the book at the moment, as the various points seem to be being labored ad infinitum. Might not matter so much for readers with no background into 5:2 and IF, but I’m finding it tedious. Maybe it will improve in the second half, which seems to have more of the “meat” I’m interested in.

    Quacka, what you’re going through is difficult, and the grief is painful. From someone who lost her mother quickly, and her father gradually over a few months, I found the grieving process with my father easier, as it started earlier, so I hope you will find the same. Not that any grief is easy, please don’t think I’m saying that, but the family could prepare better for the passing.

    Neilithicman, now you are so close to your goal, please be careful with indulgently tempting occasions. Enjoy them, but you do not have licence to go crazy šŸ™‚

    Anzac65, I saw the news of the haziness in Sydney, It seemed to be really bad. Thankfully, some of the drought-affected areas received some much-needed rain. It helps, even if the drought is not yet broken. Keep on keeping on, and remember your holiday goal in the midst of the current craziness.

    Thin, good to hear from you. Quacka’s original post was on the previous page, and I didn’t realise, reading it, that the situation was so serious, so you may have read it as I did. Good that you and Mr thin can monitor each other’s Amazon buying. šŸ™‚

    Goodnight all. Tomorrow is a new adventure!

    Morning all,

    I weighed in this morning for the end of October challenge and I was up 300 grams but I was kind of expecting that because I think I was a bit dehydrated from my cycle trip when I weighed in.

    I was pleased to read in those articles on maintenance that if you get to one year of keeping off the weight your body will stop fighting to put it back on again, and that strength training helps keep the weight off because Iā€™ve been doing plenty of that.

    Iā€™ll be back to my regular Wednesday weigh in from now and regular fasting pattern, but Iā€™ll probably drop my Tuesday fast and just fast on Monday and Thursday.

    The weather here has been crazy. We had 27 degrees a couple of days ago but mixed in with the sun weā€™ve had howling wind, pouring rain, thunder, then last night there was a big hail storm when I was down doing the shopping.

    Have a great day everyone.

    It’s been so long since I posted – but I have been lurking, and I’ll try to keep up.

    First, Quacka. Can I join your other friends here is saying how sorry I am to hear your very sad news. It’s the toughest of times. How is your Mum coping?

    Neil, I loved the pics from your trip. And amazing, the pics of the new slim you. Look at that waist! Congratulations again on everything you’ve achieved.

    Great to be making such good progress with your research Betsy. I don’t know if you’re the same, but I much preferred the qual stage of my PhD over the quant. Deep data, not just wide. I did all my transcriptions myself, which at the time was a total pain (but I needed my uni budget to partly cover the cost of travel), but in the end it was worth it because I picked up such nuance in playing the tapes over and over. I hope you are enjoying the process.

    Thin such adventures you’re having, and so good to be hearing from you. This forum has a big hole when you can’t post.

    Intesha, also good to see you posting. Glad you had a good birthday, and also that you are back into this WOL. way to go. You sound more up lately? Hope that is so.

    Klondi, interested to read how being at goal has derailed you a little bit. But this is probably the time, as you are doing, to evaluate your target, and decide whether it is right for you. I guess it will take a little adjustment (something I’m so far off I can only dream).

    Anzac, congratulations on the successful live phase of your project. What a lot of work, what a lot of stress. Your holidays will be all the sweeter. And great you’ve outgrown your trousers. Clothes are the best test of all, not some pesky number on a little machine.

    Cali those fires! Hope they’re under control soon, and things go back to normal (whether climate will ever be ‘normal’ again is anyone’s guess) soon.

    Cinque, isn’t it lovely to colour our hair? Makes us feel like new women. I have a raccoon stripe down the centre of my head if I don’t do it every 2-3 weeks. I even take the makings on holiday with me.

    We are back from Vietnam (last Saturday) and I started back on 16:8, IF, and 5:2 on Monday. So far I’ve dropped 2.7 kilos from the 3.1 I put on, but a lot of both measurements was water weight from travelling. But still, to be only up .4 of a kilo after 3 weeks is not bad. I am ploughing on til New Year now, with the hope of going into 2020 10 kilos lighter.

    My red girl has arrived and she is fabulous. She is needy at night, but we want her to sleep on our covered verandah, rather than in the living room where our elderly cat resides. Not fair for him to be displace by a younger, more glamorous edition. But she whines and cries (and so do I). We’ll give her a fe more days to settle, before we reconsider. In the meantime, she follows us everywhere. I go to the laundry, so does she. OH goes to the bedroom, so does she. I think once she has her final shots and can go to dog parks and run, she’ll sleep better.

    https://imgur.com/ovEXk4l
    https://imgur.com/9UJcNPL

    To LJ, Klondi, PerthGirl, Penguin, and all others I’ve missed, a big hello. Enjoy your weekend all.

    Quacka, I am so sorry to hear about your dad. Iā€™m glad you were able to get up to see him and spend that precious time together. Itā€™s nice that the family had a chance to get together. Itā€™s no wonder you are having trouble sleeping. Please take care of yourself.

    Thin, itā€™s so good to see you back here. The boat sounds like a wonderful adventure. You deserve some slow, leisure time after all the work of packing, getting rid of unneeded things and getting your house ready to sell. And youā€™re still at your low weight!

    Neil, you look amazing! I especially liked the photo of you and your son fitting into your pre-5/2 pants. What a great accomplishment!

    Here are some pictures of our Halloween decorations this year: https://imgur.com/a/33LHg1b

    Iā€™ll be back to post more later. Today is a FD and Iā€™ve only had a small plain yogurt all day and itā€™s after 6:30pm. Time to eat.

    What a beautiful dog Lindsay!

    Dogs certainly know how to tug on your heart strings. I remember when I was a kid and my parents got a new puppy, they tried to get her used to sleeping outside in her kennel. Their bedroom was on the opposite side of the house to her kennel so they couldn’t hear her whining at night. My bedroom was right beside her kennel so I heard just fine. I must admit that there were a couple of nights that it snowed where I snuck her into my room and she slept in bed with me….but don’t tell my parents šŸ˜‰

    It will be our secret Neil.

    She is currently terrorising our elderly cat, but he gives as good as he gets, although I think his growling now is more for show than any real attempt at dissuasion. She is a devil though – grabs his bed in her mouth and runs around the house with it.
    And although she is right off her food, she’s not at all shy about stealing his.

    https://imgur.com/a/QaJQzvB

    Love the decorations Cali.

    Good afternoon, Apologies for my lack of posts – life got a bit busy.

    Lindsay, oh, we have another shoe chewer (I hope they weren’t good thongs) – you’ll have to ask Anzac for tips on that one. I think she’ll keep the household in its toes for a while. She has all the gangliness of a rapidly growing dog. Will she be going to puppy obedience school?
    That’s excellent weight loss since returning from holiday, well done.

    Neil, it sounds like you are coping with that tiny gain well. I suspect a week of your usual routine will have the scales smiling at you again.

    Cali, as usual you’ve excelled yourself. I particularly love the autumn leaf vine that winds its way up the stairs. Good to see you have your own firefighter, just in case those lit pumpkins get our of control. Do you carve any of the pumpkins each year, or are they ceramic. I think I’d be at risk of an injury if I tried to carve a large pumpkin.
    The dramas with lack of electricity and generators sounds very trying. Although you were worried about the noise, I suspect you were not the only household with a generator. Just the cost of having to throw away all the food in a fridge-freezer makes it worth considering buying a generator.

    Thin, good to hear you are settling in so well. Try not to fall overboard please. The pub lunches might take care of the unwanted losses you had during the house move.

    Betsy, congrats on a good doctor’s visit. My GP has said that he is always more concerned about the HDL LDL ratio. You really sound in control of your NFD calories now. That’s always such a success when you’ve had some ups and downs.

    Klondi, I have reverted to my previous practice of bringing the fruit to the boil, together with the sugar and stevia and then adding it to the yoghurt once cooled. I haven’t considered making my own yoghurt. I particularly like the thick texture of the Jalna greek yoghurt that I buy. Even adding liquid fruit like passionfruit pulp doesn’t make it too runny. I use anywhere from 500ml-a litre per week. I use much less the weeks that I don’t make my fruit yoghurt!

    Cinque, I hope you enjoyed your day in the country, although I suspect it has left you very tired.
    I have also added home made jam to yoghurt as my sugar element, I didn’t realise anyone else did that. Although I did it because I had been given strawberry jam (which I don’t like), so I used a couple of teaspoons with the mashed raspberries in a few batches of fruit yoghurt.

    Cinque & Betsy, I remember those articles about the biggest loser low metabolism after weight loss. As I lost a similar amount of weight I paid attention to those articles. I know my current TDEE is well below what the calculators say it should be, so it’s possible there may be some impact. Although I think it’s also possible that even when obese we already had a lower than average TDEE. When my weight was over 120kgs my actual TDEE was 350cals less than the calculator on this site says it should be. At my current weight it’s around 250cals less that the TDEE that the calculator comes up with. My hypothesis is that we always had a body that uses calories more efficiently and therefore needs less of them than the average person. I suspect it contributed to being obese in the first place. I grew up in a family where I was the only one gaining weight, despite being fed the same as everyone else.

    Quacka, I just scrolled back and found a question I failed to answer about the veggie crusts. I don’t add egg, just salt, pepper, wholemeal flour and oil. The recipe comes from Mollie Katzen’s “The Enchanted Broccoli Forrest”. It calls for 3 cups tightly packed grated vegetables, 6tsp melted butter, 1/3 cup wholemeal flour and 1/2 tsp salt. I roughly follow that, although I used twice the veg than specified and half the fat. I also used different veg (they suggested yellow summer squash, carrot and parsnip). The thing I learned after doing it incorrectly once, was that it’s really important to get as much water out of the veg as possible before you add the other ingredients. That means grating finely rather than coarsely and adding a little salt and sitting it in a colander for half an hour before squeezing really well. It just doesn’t crisp properly otherwise.

    Klondi, I know it’s an unfortunate injury that has you acting as driver for your grandchildren, but I hope the time you get to spend with them is good for you all.

    I got so busy I even stopped posting my daily food. As I’ve continued to be happy with my choices I might stop that unless I fall into bad habits. I had grilled seafood skewers (swordfish, salmon, scallops and prawns) for lunch on Wednesday. I felt very virtuous as it included none of my favourite seafood items and I’m not very fond of the rest. However a very generous squeeze of lime dulled the fishy taste. I’m sure my body will appreciate the omega 3. I have dinners out tonight (birthday dinner) and also tomorrow night (finger food). Tonight is at my cousin’s daughter’s place and I have no idea of the menu. Tomorrow will be challenging as everything on the menu is high fat, lots of pastry and lots of tempting sweet baking after those savouries. I might try to eat a good lunch later than usual to dull my appetite. If I arrive hungry I’ll just keep snacking.

    Have a good afternoon all. I need to get baking now so I have something to take tonight.

    Good afternoon all, Friday and the weekend is nigh!

    We have a social event free weekend and Iā€™m very glad about that. The holiday is looming and we have so much to do. Plus the family are coming en-masse in two weeks so I want to do some ā€˜visitorā€™ cleaning which means doing things I donā€™t normally to in the week-to-week lick, spit and polish.

    I managed to do 10,000 steps yesterday for the first time since I got my new watch. This involved a good walk in the smoky city at lunch time and a good run and play with Maxx when I got home. My goal for weekends is 15,000

    LJ, yikes, very challenging events coming up. It makes it so much harder doesnā€™t it? Good luck but Iā€™m sure you will be proud of yourself (and we will be equally proud) by how restrained you were. Ha ha, Iā€™ve put the pressure on now havenā€™t I?

    Lindsay, so lovely to hear from you. Oh my goodness your puppy is just adorable! I am puppy broody now. Have you named her yet or is her name ā€˜Redā€™? Why is she off her food? That seems so odd to a Labrador owner. Donā€™t be shy about posting lots of pics!! So glad you enjoyed Vietnam and I hope you are already planning the next trip. Thatā€™s what we do in order to keep the post-holiday-blues away. Congratulations on dropping so much of your holiday gain already ā€“ you just have to love this WOL right?

    Neil, I finally got to look at your pics ā€“ awesome! I too love the one of you and your son in the ā€˜old Neilā€™ pants.

    Are those 60ā€™s still looming or are you already there Intesha? I hope you enjoyed Pilates. My physio is always urging me to go for my back but Iā€™m just a bit too shy to get involved in groups like that. I am being very good with my exercises and stretches lately (mostly due to nagging from OH) and my back and neck and shoulder are quite good at the moment. I havenā€™t been able to get to the physio for a couple of weeks but I have an appointment on Monday late arvo and I intend to keep it.

    Speaking of stretching, even if he is sound asleep as soon as I get on the mat to do my exercises Maxx leaps up in joy and jumps on me. It makes it a bit difficult when 40+ kilos of furry chunk is leaping on your head so OH has to distract him. I do the same when OH does his. Heā€™s lucky heā€™s cute ā€“ well they both are sometimes!

    Cali, I just love your decorations, wow. It was a lovely sunny, warm evening here last night and our street was flooded with kids doing trick or treating. We didnā€™t have Halloween at all when we were growing up and it feels a bit strange to be honest. Maxx was funny, he stood out on our balcony that looks over the street and kept barking at people walking by. Not a fierce bark, more of a ā€˜I want to come and play with youā€™ bark. The kids kept waving to him

    I had a good FD yesterday and so far having a moderate NFD. Not sure what we are having for dinner but I hope itā€™s light as it is quite warm. The weekend is going to be in the high 20ā€™s until a change hits on Sunday night.

    I have a new coat dilemma, sigh. I put the old one back on yesterday and it is still snug but definitely a teeny bit better than before. It just looks so much better than the other one but I have to tell myself that comfort is more important than looks. The other element is the looser one probably wonā€™t be as warm. Gagghhh! Iā€™m pretty sure I will still go with the bigger one, mostly so I can get plenty of layers underneath if necessary. It is also longer

    Betsy, that is awesome news about the doctorā€™s visit. Yay! Gosh it sounds like hard work with all the work you have to do for your PHD ā€“ good luck with the next lot of interviews. I didnā€™t even finish high school ā€“ I went to a selective school and it was too competitive for me – but later on I did a diploma in Financial Markets and did quite well. But I was happy to turn my back on studying after that as I donā€™t enjoy it. I really admire you for doing this.

    I hope you had a nice day with your friend in the country Cinque but, like LJ, I suspect it has tired you out terribly.

    Thin, thanks for your post and your new life sounds so adventurous and interesting. Are you close to your DD? I am pretty sure I will change jobs next year. Some things have happened this week that have really upset all of the members of our team. We are the hardest working of all the teams and we actually care about results and making sure the business are ok. But instead we were told to go away as we were ā€˜distractingā€™ and ā€˜confusingā€™ the business in our support role so we are back to our own floor bewildered and hurt. Long long story and I wonā€™t bore you. My boss also confided that the budget is being cut (now thereā€™s a surpriseā€¦not) so I can see the writing on the wall. I just hope they keep me until at least I get back from the holiday to give me time to find something else. If not then thereā€™s nothing I can do except enjoy an extra several weeks off (unpaid!) Anyway, I need less stress so maybe the lovely Canadian bank will have something. They have approached me twice since I came here asking me to go back so fingers crossed.

    Quacka I hope you are ok. Iā€™m worried the tragic news will suddenly sink in and be traumatic. I hope you can get up to see your family as often as possible. You are in my thoughtsā€¦..

    Hi PG, Merry, Crazy, Penguin and everyone else lurkingā€¦have a super weekend

    Goodness, longest post in the world. Hope I havenā€™t sent you all to sleep!

    45 minutes until home time ā€“ happy dance!!

    Anzac,
    You have done well to survive this week with your good humour in tact.

    I think the only way to decide on the right coat is to actually put on all the clothing you will want to wear on a 0-2C day and then put the coat on and actually move around, try to use your arms and see which one works. There’s no point feeling like you are in a straight jacket, you’ll regret it. Just remember that everyone you pass in Europe will be a stranger that doesn’t know you. They won’t care if you aren’t wearing the most stylish jacket – only you will be worrying. There is also one more option. I seem to remember you saying that your smaller jacket was actually 2 separate layers that didn’t have to be worn together, and that when worn separately it fitted much better. If one of those layers is small enough to earn a place in your suitcase then perhaps you could consider the bigger jacket when you need something warm, waterproof and windproof. Then use the single layer of the smaller lighter one on days when the weather is agreeable and you want to look good – perhaps for meeting the labrador group. Just an idea.

    Thanks for the encouragement about the eating challenges. I think I can manage tonight if I eat just a sliver of birthday cake. Tomorrow just doesn’t have any good options so it will rely on extreme moderation.

    I have baked very dark gewy brownies for both tonight and tomorrow – as I don’t really like brownies, but everyone else does, it seemed like an ideal choice. I’m also taking the vegetarian food – vegan sausage rolls and a spinach cob loaf dip. (I didn’t get to choose, I offered to cook and these were specifically requested.)

    Must rush, I need to drive up to the hills now as dinner is at Bridgewater.

    Quick check-in (really! šŸ™‚ ) Hi everyone. The scales were kind for the start of November, so I only have 1.4 kg now to lose, to get rid of the pesky weight I gained over the winter. All the “holiday” and “indulgence” weight has already gone. Quite hot today, and I slept badly last night, so I need a better night’s sleep. Today’s CD: 1077 cals, and 74.8 kg for the start of the warmer weather.

    Will comment of others’ posts next time, except, love the pics of your new family member, LindsayL, and welcome back from holidays.

    Next time!!

    Morning all from a cool Brisbane. The sun is struggling through, after some very good rain yesterday and overnight. Oh how we needed it, but more importantly, it’s getting out West where their livelihoods and way of life depend on it. (I knew it would rain yesterday … I got my windows cleaned on Wednesday).

    LJ Rosy is a shoe chewer … or anything else she can get her paws on. Common in puppies, I think. The thongs were handouts from the Novotel in Nha trang (now if she’d taken to my Havianas I wouldn’t be so sanguine), but I took them off her. No point in encouraging bad habits. She starts puppy school on Tuesday night, and not a second too soon!

    Lots of pumpkins and Halloween decorations in our street, and the little chap has been trick or treating with his Mum. Nice to see another celebration. We have big Diwali celebrations at work.
    I would love to see that more widely celebrated…so colourful.

    Anzac she’s called Rosy Red Dog, or Rosy for short. I do find myself calling her Red Dog too….and so do the little ones. The breeder thinks she’s off her food because she’s always had the competition …here she doesn’t. Irish aren’t like Labs or Springers that’ll wolf anything that’s going. Actually their feeding needs to be watched because as they go through adolescence they get the skinnies (oh to be a red dog!) as they shoot away, and of course they never stop running.

    We are keen for her to get her final shots next week so we can get her out and belting around with other animals. Setters need to run freely (not just backyard) to develop their gait. A dog judge told me once he could always tell a setter that had been brought up in a back yard, because they don’t have the same freedom of movement. We took her to a local park yesterday thinking it would be quiet, but there was a chap there with a large American bulldog/German shorthair cross. Very benign, fortunately, and just out for a run with a ball. Rosy doesn’t know about balls yet, but man, she gave that dog a run for its money. Wonderful to see her stretch out. Less charmed by her this morning, as she tried to shed the fibre from a special plant, nearly tipping over the stand in the process.
    https://imgur.com/gmN5bUq
    And yes, good plan to keep the post-holiday blues at bay. We are thinking Scotland in May/June, after Rosy has grown a bit.
    And finally about the coat Anzac ….good advice from LJ, and also, don’t forget you’ll probably put on a kilo or two while you are away, so don’t be uncomfortable.
    How are you today Cinque? Did you have a fun day out in the country with your friend?

    Good morning from lovely cool rainy Melbourne after a couple of hot days and nights.

    Thanks so much for the good thoughts everyone. Babysitting my darlings on Wednesday evening and then driving to Wallan on a hot Thursday, really did me in. I was cactus for a while… still am a bit.

    Quacka, what a beautiful place you live in. I love how you describe your walk to the sea.

    Thin, lovely to hear from you on the Straight and Narrow.

    Betsy, what great news from your doctor’s visit, and a real reward for all the things you are doing for your good health. No mention of Lipitor, and if all goes well, it may never be mentioned again.

    I have remembered that the concept that was pretty well debunked was the idea that out body ‘remembers’ the weight we had got to, and keeps trying to get back to it: a ‘set weight point’. However, what we do have are a whole suite of lifestyle habits, eating patterns, gut microbes, hormone levels etc that all make it very easy for us to put the weight back on. And more weight on, on top of that.

    If you do find some good research, do share it. I’m interested and I like sharing on the https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/related-science-articles-people-might-be-interested-to-read/ for others who are interested too.

    LJoyce, your theory makes a lot of sense.

    Neil you sound all set for your next stage. Hope the weather settles down to a friendly summer.

    Lindsay, welcome to ROSY! She is gorgeous. Ooh it would be a pleasure to see her run. Your cat may continue to be annoyed by her, but his life will be a lot more interesting, and that is usually a good thing.
    And welcome home! You have some nice non work time now, don’t you? To see if you like the idea of retirement.
    I did feel a new woman when I did my hair (almost time to do it again), and I did have a lovely time with my friend.

    Cali we heard more terrible fire news from your part of the world, I so hope it settles down now and the electricity goes back on.
    Your Halloween decorations are gorgeous.

    Quacka, your workplace just keeps being mad. It must be a stress to have all that uncertainty ahead AGAIN, so I hope they can be a good workplace for once and put you on an even better contract for next year. (If that is what you would like, of course!)

    Klondi, I bet you are flat out being taxi and helper to your DIL. I hope things are not too crazy.
    I keep meaning to mention to you the most wonderful podcast, in case you haven’t heard of it already. I thought DIL might like to listen to it, and you too. It is by two mums who each have twins with multiple disabilities, and it is the most wonderful truth telling about how hard life can be when you don’t fit into ‘normal’. But they are such wonderful characters it is also so funny and warm and enriching that I just want everyone in the world to listen to it. It is one of the pleasures of my week when a new episode comes out.
    https://play.acast.com/s/too-peas-in-a-podcast

    Well I am off to try and have another rest and recovery day, and also try to catch up on house work, go shopping (out of coffee and a book waiting for me at the library), and writing a list of everything else I have to do!

    Cheers all, it is day before fast day for me, and aren’t I eating delicious healthy things today, and not too much!

    Hi all, hot day here today (well hot by our standards) sitting in the mid 20s. I went for a nice ride this morning. I decided to try some hill work so I biked up Mount Grand. I only had to stop twice for a break so I was pleased with that as a start. Iā€™ll keep working on my hill fitness. We went and bought some vege seedlings for our garden, carpet for our lounge, and I managed to get the lawn mowed. So itā€™s been a productive morning.

    Hope everyone has a great day.

    Good afternoon everyone (Saturday arvo)

    Iā€™m sitting here listening to the jack hammer (itā€™s called a Kanga, so OH informs me) as OH pulls apart our en-suite, my bathroom lol. We are going to do up both our bathrooms but mine is tiny so it gets done first. He started on it at around 9am and by 10am it had already turned into a much bigger job than we planned. He was planning to take the tiles off and re do but now the tiles are pulling off the villa board as well so the whole bathroom will need relining. The floor is rotten under the shower so that will also need to be fixed. Joy! I was curious how long it would take for him to say ā€œ now you know why I hate renovations?ā€. Yep, it took only half an hour lol

    Thank you all for your good wishes regarding my Dad. Itā€™s not your fault that you didnā€™t realise that Dadā€™s health situation was much worse than I let on. I think I was trying to just be a rock and not really talk about it, but you are all so supportive and I consider you all my friends, so I had to tell you.
    My Dad is almost 88 years old. My Mum is a lot younger. Dad has been telling me for a long time (20-25 years) to look after my mother when he is gone. When I was younger I thought that meant he was going to die like in his 60ā€™s and thankfully he didnā€™t. It has been a terrible shock to find out about the cancer and worse so to find out that he hasnā€™t got very long to live, but I just keep focussed on the life he has already had. He has been lucky enough to live a long, full life and Mum and him have had almost a full lifetime together, something that I donā€™t think either of them expected. Lindsay, you asked how Mum is doing. She is ok. She really is the strongest woman I have ever known but even she doubts how she will cope when it comes to the end. How can we know? I have said to her that it is ok for her to express her grief however she needs to. My sister and I will be there for her as will our respective OHā€™s.
    Intesha and Betsy, thank you for your personal messages and relating your own experience. I know Iā€™m not the only one going through this and just hearing how you coped, really helps. Xx
    Iā€™ve been a bit worried about my own reaction, probably because I am not falling apart like I may have expected. I know it will be so hard when the time comes, and it will be extremely hard to see my family grieving, especially my Mum. Every funeral that I have ever been to, it is always the familyā€™s grief that undoes me. When it is going to be my own mother, that is really going to hurt. All I can do is take it one day at a time until that day comes.

    Anyway, Iā€™m a very practical person. Life goes on.

    Lindsay, your beautiful Rosy. She is so gorgeous and it is interesting to read about how they need the freedom to run to develop a proper gait. Glad you took those thongs away! The things they learn as a pup are what sticks with them as they get older. Enjoy her šŸ™‚

    Cali, your house looks amazing, as it did last year, for Halloween. Hope you are ok now with no more power outages. We have a gas outage at our house at the moment. We only use it for cooking (stove top) but unfortunately when OH switched over to the full one a couple of weeks ago, the connection must not have been great and I suppose it has all leaked out. Yes a full big gas bottle slowly emptied. Oh well. Whatever. Lol

    Thin, great to hear from you šŸ™‚ and actually, great to hear from all of you šŸ™‚

    You really are an amazing bunch of people and I feel really lucky to be a part of this awesome group. Even better… we have all found a way that works for us, to keep our weigh in check, to keep our health in check and most of all, to keep our heads in check!

    Ps. Betsy, yay! You didnā€™t have to go on the Lipitor. I know how much that was worrying you. Well done

    Ok the jackhammer is hammering in my head right now….. or Kanga, or whatever you want to call it. I could tell you what I am calling it right now but it may just need censoring….. lol

    Take care everyone and have a nice weekend xx

    Quick check in.

    Yes Anzac I did fleetingly see the 60ā€™s yesterday after my FD so hopefully I can continue the downward trend.

    Have just baked 166 Vanilla Xmas cookies and tomorrow will do gingerbread then I will decorate them. This year instead of stressing about colours and design I am going to do some fondant, some,Royal icing and marbling just to mix it up a little. I love decorating with royal icing but it is so time consuming mixing all the colours and doing different consistencies and with the weather the way it is I will have to make the most of the cooler mornings as I donā€™t have air conditioning and it gets extremely hot in the house.

    Anyway hope you are all enjoying whatever you are doing.

    Quacka our posts crossed.

    We all cope in different ways. I donā€™t really think I have grieved for my Mum yet because I have Dad with me and I have to be strong or so I think. Yes I cried in the beginning and at the funeral, yes I have a little cry when I look at her photo and realise she is no longer here but there are times I wish I could just go on a bender and let it all out.

    You are fortunate to have your OH and family around and you will support each other through this.

    We are all here for you.

    Thank you Intesha x

    I couldn’t head off to bed without a publicly accounting for all the food I ate tonight – it was not good!

    I had 1 mini quiche, 4 mini sausage rolls, 4 chunks of bread with spinach dip, 1 piece of cheesecake, 1 piece of raspberry cake, 3 mini muffins, 1 blondie, a slice of mango and a slice of pear.

    I am so going to pay for all that sugar tomorrow. Once I started on the sweet things that I’ve been avoiding for weeks I just couldn’t stop.

    FD Sunday!

    Donā€™t beat yourself up too much LJoyce, a cheat day now and then can actually help you drop weight because it helps keep your metabolism ticking over. Your accountability posts until now looks like you have been keeping pretty strict, so put it behind you and move on to today

    As always my worst times for snacking are when I get home from work, so Iā€™ve made a plan to fight it. Iā€™ve filled the fridge with asparagus (which I love to munch on) and some home-made protein/fat bars. I melted some coconut oil and a couple of tablespoons of honey together and then mixed it though a bowl of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, thread coconut, raisins, cocoa powder, chopped almonds, Brazil nuts and cashews then I pressed it in a brownie tin and stuck it in the fridge to set. Iā€™ve cut it into small bars about half the size of an Uncle Tobyā€™s muesli bar and now Iā€™ve got a couple of weeks worth of after work snacks ready to go so I donā€™t munch away on stuff I shouldnā€™t be eating.

    Morning friends. More rain overnight, which has been wonderful. We got a whole night’s sleep last night (ie no wailing and whining and banging at the door) so feel Rosy is accepting that she is sleeping on the covered verandah and not with us! We gave her a couple of good outings yesterday and a couple of good runs…..I left my fitbit in my GD’s swimming bag so no idea of the steps we did, but it was quite a lot by the time we’d crossed football grounds, walked her around on a lead for a little bit, then more walking as she ran.

    Oh LJ one day of treats won’t derail your amazing commitment. Back on the horse today, as Merry would say. I agree the sugar can be a problem for the day after….but a FD should fix that. The thing is, did you enjoy it? As well as being slim, you have to enjoy life too, which is what makes this WOL so manageable.

    And wow Intesha in the 60s. That is a very fine number.

    Cinque I found those articles about maintaining weight loss very interesting. Thank for for the links. Interesting, how sitting contributes. A salutary reminder to get up and get moving (I tend to sit for far too long at the computer).

    Betsy, that HDL ratio is excellent so good news that the Lipidor has gone on the back burner for a while. Will you do anything different to lower the cholesterol, or are you happy with the ratio as it stands? (and I forgot to say, thank you for my welcome back).

    OK off for a quick shower while red dog sleeps (did I mention that DD says having a pup is almost like having a baby …. you are sleep deprived, the house is a mess, and everyone comes to ooh and aah….the difference, according to DD, is that no one brings a little lasagne to pop in the oven when you don’t have time to cook). Funny girl, my DD.

    bye all

    Oh no just wrote a big post and made it disappear. I’ll rest and recover before I try again!

    Thankyou Neil and Lindsay. I know I will amend my ways, but I sometimes despair at my total lack of self control on some occasions.
    As expected, I have a raging thirst and a headache this morning. My best friend is arriving shortly to get me out of the house for a long walk – which is much needed as I feel very sluggish.

    LJ, no way in the world could anyone (even yourself!) accuse you of lacking self-control. All the discipline you’ve shown in so many ways tells us you have it in spades ….even if it slips very occasionally, which after all is what humans do …..otherwise we’d be robots.

    And because I have so little discipline and self control, I am going to have a wee boast because I actually showed some today.

    As part of my new ‘trial’ retirement , we are going to start the morning with a park run (for Rosy and us, although I suspect we’ll be at a more gentle pace) followed by coffee out. And that’s just what we did today. No breakfast for me, just 2 black coffees, and I would have been 16 hours from last night’s calories; I’d looked at the menu and chosen poached eggs with smoked salmon. OH had eaten earlier so wanted hot chocolate and some fruit toast. All settled, dog under chair, water poured ….and then the chirpy little thing who came to take our order started with, ‘oh, just to let you know, our eftpos machine is out so it’s cash only this morning’. I had $20 in my wallet ….enough for our drinks and a couple of rather large muffins. So, that’s what OH had, and I settled for ….black coffee. I feel virtuous. It’s not a feeling I’m familiar with so I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

    Cinque, aren’t you a lovely woman, remembering that I was in a pre-retirement phase. It’s an odd feeling. I keep thinking I’d better jump up and do things….and then remember I have all week.

    I’m off to harvest some honey either today or Tuesday, depending on the weather. Very exciting, to see what the new Queen has produced (or rather how the workers are producing for her). I’d like some workers producing for me, but as that’s not going to happen, I’d better work out how to do my floors before my house is declared a hazmat zone.

    Wow itā€™s hot! šŸ„µ

    I biked out to frisbee golf this afternoon and the dairy out there has a thermometer on it. It was reading 33 degrees. It was so hot the tar seal was melting and the stones were sticking to my tyres! Biking home up the hills was NOT fun. Iā€™m going to enjoy a cold beer at the family dinner tonight, thatā€™s for sure.

    Reporting in for the end of the weekend, and dare I say it? I doubled your suit, LJoyce, by having NFDs both Saturday AND Sunday about 50% over my TDEE. Sigh! Well, tomorrow is another day, and I’m planning on a FD, TDEE on Tuesday, then I might try a B2B2B FDs again, Wednesday to Friday, just for fun. Haven’t done that in a while. Not sure it will work, as the weather will be quite cool again (typical Melbourne!), but if I keep pouring in the water, it should work okay.

    Cinque, interesting comments re metabolic rates, and trying to return to “set weight point” – pushed very hard by Jason Fung in his book. Ended up finding it tediously repetitive as he belaboured the problems of insulin and cortisol, but really only gave a very short bit at the end about intermittent fasting. Well that’s just me.
    Also, he really didn’t convince me about not using artificially-sweetened drinks – it was a very brief chapter with not a lot of evidence. When I went online via Google Scholar, I read several articles which had amassed metadata (data accumulated from many, not just several studies), and one in particular has followed up on successful dieters who had maintained their weight loss for more than 5 years. Of those, nearly 50% still drank artificially-sweetened drinks. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of solid evidence supporting the idea that they induce an insulin response equivalent to that of sugared drinks, that I could find, anyway. However, I’ll keep looking, and if anyone else finds some, please tell me the titles.

    Intesha, I came back to Australia to be with my Dad after my mother died, and like you, held in my own grief, because I didn’t want to upset him – for 4 years! All the time, there was something inside that just wanted to cry, even though I smiled on the outside. I finally went and spoke with some counsellors, a husband and wife team, and I think I cried almost non-stop for one-and-a-half hours. That let it out, and I was fine after that. You may find it helpful at some point to do something like that. Just don’t hold it in for as long as I did; it really wasn’t emotionally healthy.

    LindsayL, what a delightful new addition to your family, and I’m sure your Rosy will bring you all much joy, plus frustration, over the coming years. Just think of Anzac65’s Maxx. Really cute photos, and she looks much happier in the final one, so I’d guess she’s finally feeling that this is home.

    Keep on keeping on everyone. Tomorrow is a new day!

    Good morning, a lovely cool bright morning here. Melbourne, Monday 8:45, the crows are here for the summer, I can hear them calling.

    Still recovering from losing that post yesterday. But then I went and did a lot of gardening, including setting up a new garden bed, so that was also exhausting, but at least I had something wonderful at the end of it.

    Just about to enjoy my day-after-fast-day breakfast.

    Neil, I hope you got a grand view up the top of Mount Grand.

    Quacka those renovations sound full on!
    Thankyou so much for telling us about your dad and mum. I am so glad your dad has had such a great life with you all, and that he is be surrounded by loved ones.
    I keep sending good wishes to you all through this hard time.

    Intesha, sending good wishes to you too. Lovely to hear about your Christmas cookies and the decisions about how you will decorate them. Looking forward to the photos. Hooray for cooler mornings.

    LJoyce, what a spectacular fail. I hope you were able to enjoy the food, even while you were crying ‘stop! stop!’ to yourself.
    I do hope yesterday was better.

    Lindsay, good news that Rosy is settling down at night. Your trial retirement sounds delightful.
    Nice work at the cafe!
    Keen to hear if there is honey!

    Oh dear Betsy, glad that weekend is done and dusted and hoping you have some good days now.
    I agree with you about the artificially sweetened drinks. Not that I drink them, but I bet it is a personal thing and some people might find that they don’t help because they are associated with eating fast food, for example, but for others they make no difference at all.

    I need to get my house ready for a) my granddaughters who will be here while their mum gets some more fillings done and b) the nbn technician coming to set me up for nbn.

    It is a day for good food, not too much, mostly plants.

    And happy fasting those of you who are fasting. I nearly said Thin, but she is still in Sunday! Read this when you wake up Thin, and have a lovely fast day.

    Cheers all.

    Good Morning everyone

    It’s Monday. Yay! Well, not that I love Monday’s really but it is a FD and I am happy about that šŸ™‚

    Thank you for the good wishes you are sending me and my family, Cinque. It means so much to me.
    I am really thankful for everyone’s messages and concern for me. I am ok at the moment and we are planning on going to see my parents on Friday again so I’m really looking forward to that.

    Just a quick post today as I have a lot of work to do but I wanted to check in and let you all know that I’m here, I’m on a FD and that I am ok x

    Look after yourselves.

    Good morning everyone.

    I got through the FD without too much difficulty, although I had a very poor night’s sleep last night for some unknown reason. I kept waking every 1-2 hours.

    Quacka, glad you hear you are getting to spend time with your parents. You will cherish time times that you have together, and those memories will be important later.

    Neil, I think we’ve swapped weather, it’s cold here this week. Talk about erratic weather, my veggie plants can’t decide whether to flourish or hibernate!

    Cinque, I hope your post FD brekkie was nice. I even ate some this morning – a small bowl of bircher muesli.

    Betsy, it looks like it was the weekend for excess. I’m hoping my Sunday FD broke the pattern and I can get back to moderation this week. Hopefully your FD today will do the same. I thought about your B2B idea, but decided I couldn’t face it during a cold weather week. I think I’m better just sticking to TDEE on my NFDs. Good luck with your strict week.
    Betsy, I remember on one of the many medical doccos they tested sugar, stevia and artificial sweeteners on a group of people to see what it did to their insulin levels. Some people had an insulin spike after consuming artificial sweeteners – but not everyone. So it looks like it is a phenomenon that occurs, but it is not universal.

    Lindsay, you had a much more restrained weekend than I did. It’s looking like the acquisition of Ruby will be very good for your exercise levels.

    Cali, is your power back on and stable yet?

    I’ve just redone my meal plans this week as the weather is just too cold for my original choices. It looks like it will be cool all week – 19-23C which is very mild for November. I’ve gotten rid of the salad plans and I’m back to stews, soups and hot veg. At least I can use the last remaining containers of those things from the freezer.

    Have a nice day.

    Good morning all, a sunny morning after getting some much needed rain yesterday afternoon and overnight. More rain predicted later today

    Tomorrow is Melbourne Cup day and Iā€™m sad because I always take the day off and spend it with my closest friends. But this year due to (a) the recent go-live and (b) Iā€™m already taking 7 weeks off soon I am working instead. Boo. Normally, at least, there are sweepstakes and a gathering to watch the race, but this team are doing nothing at all. Double boo!

    Had a terrible Saturday food wise. OH had a friend over to watch the Rugby league test match so I bought some chips, crackers, hommus and nuts for them to have with their beers but they didnā€™t have them and then went to the club to meet up with some other friends to watch the Rugby union games. So of course Maxx and I gleefully cuddled up on the couch to watch movies (OH rarely goes out so I rarely get to watch girlie movies) but I ate Ā½ a large bag of chips, half a bag of mixed nuts and several crackers with hommus. And wine. Oh dear. Yesterday was busy as we walked Maxx then had our shots for the trip at 8.00am then I headed to Westfields to buy my new cozzie and some summer pants. I only had a black coffee up until 1.00pm so decided to have an almost FD which I did. I had some lovely sliced ham straight off the bone for lunch then 2 lamb cutlets and greek salad for dinner. The scales were ok this morning, low 83ā€™s so once again I aim for 82ā€™s after tomorrows proper FD.

    Quacka, Iā€™m so glad you are able to go and see your parents again this weekend. Happy FD today

    LJ, It certainly was a weekend of excesses. Hereā€™s to a healthy week for us all

    33 degrees in Dunedin Neil! That is completely mad and you would have really felt it on your bike. The humidity has well and truly struck here now and itā€™s really steamy after the rain. I just went for a walk and between that and dodging crowds it really isnā€™t very pleasant. I should stick to walking around Darling Harbour as at least there is normally a bit of a breeze. Or up to Hyde park where it is cooler in amongst the trees

    I misread your post Cinque and though you said the COWS were here for the summer and calling to each other. I simultaneously thought ā€˜I didnā€™t realise Cinque was so ruralā€™ plus ā€˜how nice to have cows mooing outside the houseā€™. Then I reread it and it was CROWS. Ha ha. Still nice though. So sorry to hear you have been poorly but glad you are feeling a little bit better. Oh, and there is NOTHING more frustrating that getting a nice long post written and then losing it. It seems so easy to do on this forum

    I did a practice pack on the weekend and that, plus having two sore arms from the shots, is making the holiday feel very real now. The lovely small Labrador forum I am on are organising a catch up with OH and I for Wednesday 18th December and that will be lovely. Thereā€™s about 100 of us on it and we have been ā€˜friendsā€™ since I found them when Maxx was a puppy. Without them we wouldnā€™t have Maxx because one morning at 4.00am when hubby and I were sitting on the back porch with a crocopup going nuts and chewing us, the outdoor furniture and crying like a baby all night every night we thought we were doing something wrong and decided to take him back to the breeder. Luckily I googled ā€˜labrador puppy helpā€™ and found this very caring and wise group of Labrador owners (just like the very caring and wise 5:2ers on here). They quickly assured us that Maxx was behaving perfectly normally and it wouldnā€™t last more than a few weeks. They were right, he did soon calm down (to a point) and we are so relieved we kept him now. He is definitely calming and bit since turning 2 and seems more aware of us and wanting to be with us. His recall is also much improved. He now nicks things such as tea-towels just to get our attention and the fact that he runs to us with his treasure means he just wants to interact. So what if we spend half our life rinsing out tea-towels?

    Oh dear, I need to run to a meeting. Chat soon

    Hi guys im in a pickle, Sunday was fd i was feeling off but i did 481 cals today nfd oooo diarrhea bad felt sick but didnt vomit couldn’t face food protein shake to take meds 1/2 ciabatta bun wkth manuka honey 279cals sl far still dosen’t feel tight, supposed to be fd tomorrow cant see me eating much either my question will i do damage not eating

    I’m not sure if I’ve just made a wonderful discovery or created a new snacking problem! I just made my first ever batch of homemade toasted muesli. (The only muesli I ever usually make is bircher – one bowl at a time). I’m astounded at how good it tastes with no added fats and a tiny proportion of added sugars (maple syrup). In fact it’s so tasty that as it’s cooling I’m tempted to grab handfuls to munch on. https://imgur.com/a/eAVWbJM (It has 4 cups of oats, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla paste, and 1/4-1/2 a cup each of flaked almonds, pecans, linseed (flax), pepitas, flaked coconut, dried cranberries and sultanas.) The only tricky bit was getting it all toasted without burnt bits. I was trying to make a muesli that was similar to a very pricey maple-cinnamon muesli that I usually buy, but this one actually tastes even better. I hope it keeps well because it’s a very big batch.

    Crazy, don’t eat if you don’t feel like it (apart from whatever you need to make your meds taken safely). Do make sure you keep your fluids up. If you think you really need to eat go for a meaty broth, or miso soup, if you can.

    Hopefully by the day after tomorrow you will feel like eating something (chicken soup, vegemite on toast). Good luck.

    LJoyce yum, I was famous for making muesli and added no sugar or honey etc, but probably added more dried fruit than you do. So delicious. I just toasted the oats and sometimes the almonds. Yours must be the deluxe version.

    Hi to everyone, I’ll catch up properly tomorrow.

    Crazy, your post just popped up.
    So sorry to hear you are ill. I think the FAQs on this site say we should avoid fasting when ill. Just eat (and drink) what is suitable and what you feel you can keep down until your digestive system has recovered. Cinque’s advice is good – plenty of fluids, broths etc. I find that usually the foods you can face eating are often the ones that will ok.

    Sorry to hear youā€™re poorly Crazy. You should definitely not eat if youā€™ve got an upset stomach (I think the advice about not fasting when sick is more around cold and flu rather than stomach issues). Youā€™ll definitely need to keep your fluids up. The advice usually given is water, electrolyte drinks and clear soups/broth. The advice I was told with starting on food again when youā€™re feeling up to food was ā€œBRATā€ (Bananas, Rice, Apples and Toast)

    The muesli sounds good LJoyce. Iā€™ve just discovered a company that makes nice grain free mueslis that are high in protein, good fats and low in sugar. The one Iā€™m eating at the moment is nuts, seeds, coconut, freeze dried raspberries, and then they bind it together with chia seeds and quinoa and bake it all together. It tastes pretty good.

    https://www.puredelish.co.nz/

    The weather has really changed this afternoon, it was hot and sunny all day so I put on my shorts and t-shirt for tennis, then the mist rolled in, the temperature dropped and it was freezing. You just canā€™t win with the weather in spring.

    Good Morning everyone

    Crazy, I hope you are feeling better today. I echo the other advice. Just take it easy, eat something light if you feel like it and drink lots of water. Fasting will still be there when you feel better and no, you won’t do any damage by not eating. listen to your body šŸ™‚

    I had a good FD yesterday until I got home….
    OH was in the ensuite making more noise (and dust!) and even though I had dinner ready I wanted to wait until he was done to eat together. I ended up snacking on some cold roast beef, a little bit of quiche and then I decided it would be a great idea to use the time to make some more of my roasted Nori snacks. Well, I ate A LOT of those and then I told my OH that I had to eat dinner because otherwise I wouldn’t stop snacking! I had my konjac noodles and some of the beef and veggie mince mix but I ate a lot less than I normally would for a FD dinner, mainly to keep the calories under control but also because I had already had lots of snacks! Then I felt sick!
    I am ok today but I think the combination of foods and the short time of eating them was why I felt sick. I think I still stayed around 500 calories for the day and the scales are showing correct weight (It’s Melbourne Cup day!!) so I’m not too worried about it.

    LJ, your muesli sounds delicious and healthy too. I don’t think it is a bad thing that you have discovered this! It’s a healthy snack and you know every single ingredient that you have put into it. Maybe you could put a half or quarter cup measuring cup into the mix so you know exactly how much a portion is and what the calories are for that. just a thought šŸ™‚

    Ok, everyone hope you all have a happy Melbourne Cup day and a great FD if you are on one. OH and I are in the sweeps at work. We drew numbers 15 and 24. Hmmmm, I don’t think we will be winners this year šŸ˜‰

    Crazy, hope youā€™re feeling better by the time you read this. I agree with the others that said to drink lots of fluids and donā€™t eat if your body is telling you not to.

    LJ, that muesli looks really good. I bought some rolled oats and some rye a few weeks ago but havenā€™t gotten around to making muesli yet. Iā€™ve been cooking the two together to make a porridge and adding some walnuts because that seemed good on cold mornings. It also keeps me feeling full for a long time.

    Quacka, glad to hear youā€™re visiting your parents again. Iā€™m thinking of you and hoping that youā€™re managing ok. These are times to live in the moment and make the most of precious times together.

    The firemen are slowly large fires under control. I heard this morning that they are all at least 50% contained. We havenā€™t had any more power outages around here, thank goodness. Weā€™ve been busy choosing faucets and shower accessories for the bathrooms. They should be starting on DSā€™s bathroom next week and then ours around the beginning of Dec. Hers should take about 5 days and ours a couple weeks. Itā€™s a busy time of the year to have it done but just want to get it over with.

    Today was a FD and was pretty easy. Iā€™m looking forward to good numbers on the scales in the morning.

    Have a great day everyone!

    Hi all, my body was crying out for calories today so lucky Iā€™ve dropped my third fast day and I was able to eat a bit more than I usually eat on a Tuesday. It feels weird not to be fasting on the day before a weigh-in. I wonder what sort of affect that is going to have on the scales.

    Good evening everyone.

    Neil, if you always weigh after a FD, there may be a difference tomorrow. It doesn’t mean you haven’t lost weight, just that there is more food “in transit”. I notice this by comparing the hip measurements after FDs and NFDs.
    I hadn’t realised you were still doing 4:3 rather than 5:2, no wonder your weight loss is still moving so strongly.

    Cali, glad you are finally getting to the end of the design decisions and that the work will be starting soon. It’s good that you are doing one after the other so there is still a functioning bathroom at all times. I’m looking forward to pics of the final result.
    Good news on the fires.

    Quacka, it sounds like you rescued you FD really well last night.

    Crazy, I hope your digestive system has calmed down now.

    Good night all.

    Thanks guys, im still struggling lol my family is watching me closely be glad when its all back to normal

    Hi all, it’s been a poor start to November. After my CD on Friday, it’s been all “downhill” (or maybe I should write “uphill”?) from there. Planning on B2B2B the next 3 days to kickstart change, but I’ve had persistent laryngitis and what I think is post-viral exhaustion for the past several days. I don’t know what else to call it. I struggled today to even walk from one end of the shopping centre to the other. Managed, but was sorely tempted to grab a shopping trolley to lean on. That is so not me. I did complain to my doctor last Thursday that my sore throat was persisting, and he gave me a blood test request to get it checked out if I felt necessary, so I think I’ll do that tomorrow. Not really expecting it to show anything, but it may show that I have a viral infection, which would encourage me because then I’d know for sure what’s going on. It’s very wearing to feel like this just now, when I have so many interviews scheduled over the next 2 weeks.

    Okay, sorry about the above; everyone has their own problems, and on the scale of things, a virus really doesn’t rate very highly. šŸ™‚

    Good to hear from so many. CalifDreamer, great that the fires are coming under control, and there’ve been no more electricity outages. Hope the process of choosing bathroom accessories continues to flow, and the work is done in your hoped for timeframe.

    crazyartist, if you have a gastric upset, as others have written, you don’t need to eat. Make sure you keep up your fluid intake as much as possible. There are very few people harmed by going without food for a couple of days. Then don’t try to start by eating normally. Your intestine needs recovery time, so very light to start – we used to drink diluted flat lemonade while ill and dry toast with a scraping of vegemite as the first “meal” to see what the stomach would tolerate. Gently, gently does it.

    Good to hear from Anzac65, and hope the longed for 82s start appearing on the scales.

    Closing off for now. Neilithicman, sounds like your weather over there has been as crazy as Melbourne’s, but at least the weather behaved for Cup day.

    Weigh in and up another 300 grams to 89.4 but still well under my 90 kilo goal weight. I know itā€™s not fat gain because I havenā€™t eaten enough to gain any weight, in fact I hardly ate anything over the weekend because the hot weather always seems to kill my appetite. Iā€™ll see how my weight goes for the next couple of weeks weighing in after non fast days, see if it stabilises and then decide how to progress in the future.

    Have a great day everyone

    Good morning all. Where does the time go.

    Sorry to hear about people being unwell and hope you are all looking after yourselves and will soon be on the mend.

    Day after FD and 69.3. Donā€™t know if changing my scales to reflect my new age had anything to do with it but Iā€™ll take the win.

    Made gingerbread cookies on Sunday so now have nearly 300 to decorate. Had a minor distraction which upset my day. Dad had been out to get his weekly lottos, he was coming up the back steps of which there are only two, overbalanced and went crashing backwards to the pavement hitting his head on his walker on the way down. Luckily he only had a few grazes on his head and elbow. I had to call my ex who only lives 15 mins away to come over and he then got one of my neighbours to help lift Dad up. Dad is about 117kgs and has no strength in his legs so I am not able to lift him. He really is deteriorating in his mobility.

    Anyway life goes on. Off to Pilates this morning.

    Have a good day all.

    Cool Wednesday here in my part of Melbourne, 9am

    Life is hectic but I am just about catching up with it. Yes, getting the shopping done, minding the grandchildren and getting a new microwave feels as high pressure as Anzac getting her project live! Haha It is all relative.

    But I am sorry you couldn’t enjoy your Melbourne Cup Day Anzac. Make sure you get it in your contract next year!
    Haha re the cows, although I love cows dearly (especially Jerseys) and wish I could hear some mooing. The crows are quiet, too cold I think.
    So glad your trip is getting close. It will be so lovely to meet those Labra-adorers.

    LJoyce, I hope you have caught up on sleep.

    Crazy, so sorry that bad belly is continuing. Sending good wishes. I am glad your family are around you and have got you/will get you to the doctor if it doesn’t clear up soon.
    Won’t food taste nice once you get hungry again.

    Betsy, so much sympathy, it does sound as if you have a dreaded lurgy. I hope you can give yourself lots of rest and recovery. I especially hope you don’t have to push yourself hard, as that might just make you more exhausted until you absolutely fall in a heap.

    Neil sympathy with the hot cold weather changes, same here. Cool for the rest of the week. A last hurrah for the soups and stews, as LJoyce says. But I bet the weather doing this bouncing around makes it even harder for you to transition into your new routine.

    Quacka, reading about you having to wait for your meal while Mr Quacka was busy making noise and dust… Isn’t it hard when something messes up expectations! Hooray that you managed it all alright.

    Cali, so glad to hear your news. Relief re the fires. Exciting re the renovations. Will everything be done for Christmas?

    Intesha, what a fright. I do hope your dad is feeling better today.
    Congratulations for being nicely into the 60’s. Onward and downward! I hope you have a particularly nice pilates class and some great decorating of biscuits!

    Well I need to work out how to turn my phone over to VoIP now that I have the nbn. That is today’s task. But first I am going to have a little walk over to the op shop. šŸ™‚

    Best wishes all.

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